‘It’s an old-fashioned way of saying woman, Lols,’ said Sasha. ‘I guess that when she took this photo, Rachel didn’t know who Bethany was.’ She got to her feet and said to Deborah, ‘Would Rachel have taken these while she was here?’

‘We have a curfew, and we ask residents to account for their movements, but they’re not prisoners here, they can come and go as they please during the day, so it’s entirely possible. But we certainly don’t allow cameras or camera phones.’ She eyed the notebook over Sasha’s shoulder. ‘This is quite a surprise. I suppose it’s what she wanted to get her hands on when she kept coming back.’

Sasha placed the notebook in a plastic bag and took it outside. It was gone six on a Friday night, and Lolly told her she’d take it back to Victoria Avenue, but Sasha was reluctant to hand it over. She stared at Lolly for a long moment, thinking.

‘Lore told me her mother was devoted to her son. What if she’s killing his friends in a twisted attempt to win back his love? Or maybe it’s some kind of reverse Oedipus complex…’

Lolly looked lost. ‘Edie…?’

‘She wants her son all to herself.’

‘But why Deano and Tony Gardner? As far as we know, yeah, Jez hasn’t seen either of them for years.’

‘Rachel was stuck in prison, she probably had no idea who her son’s closest friends were. But Deano, Tony and Abs were all named in the national newspapers, along with Jeremy, when Rhiannon Jenkins went missing.’

‘It’s about time you started enjoying your special night, lady,’ Lolly scolded. ‘You’ve got to get to the hotel to make sure you’re looking gorgeous for your sexy evening with Kev.’

Sasha rattled the bag. ‘We should take a closer look at this.’

‘But what does it even mean? A lonely woman comes out of prison and takes photos of the son she hasn’t seen for years. It ain’t a smoking gun, is it, Sash?’

‘At the very least, it means she’s been watching him, keeping tabs on his movements.’ Sasha moved towards her car. ‘I’ll see you back at the office.’

‘DCI Vaughn said you’re not to come back.’

Sasha stopped in her tracks. ‘He did?’

‘He reckons you need to step back. We all do, Sasha. We all know you like to lead from the front, it’s why we love you so much, but give yourself permission to take a night off. Get a bit tipsy, you and Kev, get all snuggled up.’ Lolly winked. ‘Know what I’m saying?’

‘There’s a murderer on the loose, Lols.’

‘And lots of good people working hard to find her. The world ain’t gonna fall apart just because you’ve put on the out-of-office.’